One wire alternator

[37chief]

Just waiting for my Alternator to lock up and smoke the belt on mt JD 401B I doubt the bearings have been changed since new. What I would like to do is install a one new wire alternator, and get rid of the rat nest of wires in my battery box, just waiting for a fire to start. I had a fire start on my JD 5020 about 15 years ago, under the hood, and was lucky to have a fire extinguisher handy. Do the one wire alternators work as advertised? Anyone use one? Stan

 

[old]

Just waiting for my Alternator to lock up and smoke the belt on mt JD 401B I doubt the bearings have been changed since new. What I would like to do is install a one new wire alternator, and get rid of the rat nest of wires in my battery box, just waiting for a fire to start. I had a fire start on my JD 5020 about 15 years ago, under the hood, and was lucky to have a fire extinguisher handy. Do the one wire alternators work as advertised? Anyone use one? Stan

One wires work okay but most need high RPM to start charging and also can run the battery down it it sits a long time. A 3 wire is the way I go ad not at all hard to wire up. I'm guessing what you have is diesel which makes it real easy to wire up

 

[Geo-TH,In]

Just waiting for my Alternator to lock up and smoke the belt on mt JD 401B I doubt the bearings have been changed since new. What I would like to do is install a one new wire alternator, and get rid of the rat nest of wires in my battery box, just waiting for a fire to start. I had a fire start on my JD 5020 about 15 years ago, under the hood, and was lucky to have a fire extinguisher handy. Do the one wire alternators work as advertised? Anyone use one? StanC

Cheif.
I bought a 3 wire Delco lifetime alternator 20 years ago from Autozone..
Autozone gave me another new FREE lifetime Delco.
Good chance I won't be around in another 20 year.
I will only buy lifetime starters and alternators from the Zone because I plan to live a lifetime.

 

[Jim.ME]

Your 401B still have the original Motorola charging system? If you know the bearings are going, it is time to change it. If you just think they are due to go, I'd wait until there was indication of such.

You will get the regulator and its wires out of the battery box, other than that nothing should change. Make sure you get a one wire alternator that supports a charging indicator light or you may have to add a voltmeter or ammeter to monitor your charging system. Be sure you get as small a diameter (to help with the speed of the alternator) pulley, of the same width as the original pulley, for proper belt life.

 

[stevieb49829]

Just waiting for my Alternator to lock up and smoke the belt on mt JD 401B I doubt the bearings have been changed since new. What I would like to do is install a one new wire alternator, and get rid of the rat nest of wires in my battery box, just waiting for a fire to start. I had a fire start on my JD 5020 about 15 years ago, under the hood, and was lucky to have a fire extinguisher handy. Do the one wire alternators work as advertised? Anyone use one? Stan

Stan, if you want to go the 3 wire route, I have a spare new diode sitting on my shelf, I can send you. I've wired 2 for myself and helped two others do the same. Really simple, and I think more suited to tractors than the one wire. No idiot light or resistor needed. I had a one wire sitting on the bench the last time, so I built the loom for a 3 wire, and only used the one wire this time. Now, if someone so chooses, they can change it out to a 3 wire by just bolting up another alternator and using the whole loom. steve

 

[moresmoke]

I have a couple tractors set up with one wire alternators from DB Electrical. Hardest part is matching up the right pulley. One of them I machined a pulley special for the 7/8 wide belt.

Both work great, only have a wire from the alt to the battery and the start circuit. Nothing else for wiring.

 

[mrhud]

you scan buy a motorola to delco adapter front alternator housing and buy aplug and play wire adapter dont mess with a one wire it will nevar be right again

 

[Duner Wi]

you scan buy a motorola to delco adapter front alternator housing and buy aplug and play wire adapter dont mess with a one wire it will nevar be right again

I had a one wire once and was not at all happy with it. Three wire correctly wired is superior.

 

[Ericp351]

As above- 1 wire silly and for sissies. Are you really smarter then G>M was back in the Space Race Days?? Anyway- dislike fires- buy a fuse link . See my first sentence. About $6 if you are too lazy to go to wreck yard, or just don't buy a small spool.

 

[rvirgil_KS]

Your 401B still have the original Motorola charging system? If you know the bearings are going, it is time to change it. If you just think they are due to go, I'd wait until there was indication of such.

You will get the regulator and its wires out of the battery box, other than that nothing should change. Make sure you get a one wire alternator that supports a charging indicator light or you may have to add a voltmeter or ammeter to monitor your charging system. Be sure you get as small a diameter (to help with the speed of the alternator) pulley, of the same width as the original pulley, for proper belt life.

"Make sure you get a one wire alternator that supports a charging indicator light or you may have to add a voltmeter or ammeter to monitor your charging system."

This is true, but what you are describing is a 3 wire alternator.

 

[JMOR]

All one-wire VRs are NOT the SAME and kick in at different speeds. Some sense the actual stator voltage AHEAD of the rectifier diodes, which is how the old 10DN with mechanical VR did it.

 

[Janicholson]

All one-wire VRs are NOT the SAME and kick in at different speeds. Some sense the actual stator voltage AHEAD of the rectifier diodes, which is how the old 10DN with mechanical VR did it.

Finding the milliamp draw of a one wire at 12.6 volts is educational. if in the 50ma area no real issue. some draw much more. Jim

 

[Jim.ME]

"Make sure you get a one wire alternator that supports a charging indicator light or you may have to add a voltmeter or ammeter to monitor your charging system."

This is true, but what you are describing is a 3 wire alternator.

There are some one wire alternators advertised as working with just the one battery wire without using a charging light OR able to connect the light to the #1 terminal to maintain the light for units that have an indicator light.

Edit to add: Unless it has been modified his 401B has an indicator light, no ammeter or voltmeter.

 

[JMOR]

Finding the milliamp draw of a one wire at 12.6 volts is educational. if in the 50ma area no real issue. some draw much more. Jim

I have never measured ANY that were ever anywhere that high! I have measured 1.8 ma one wire. That is 2.4 times more than Std 3wire Delco 0.75 ma.
0.75 ma will drain a 60 A-hr battery dead in 9 years, so the one wire at 1.8 ma should kill it in 3.75 years. I don’t see a problem here.

 

[Janicholson]

I have never measured ANY that were ever anywhere that high! I have measured 1.8 ma one wire. That is 2.4 times more than Std 3wire Delco 0.75 ma.
0.75 ma will drain a 60 A-hr battery dead in 9 years, so the one wire at 1.8 ma should kill it in 3.75 years. I don’t see a problem here.

True. Jim

 

[buickanddeere]

Use a proper three wire

 

[JMOR]

True. Jim

50 ma would kill in about 1.6 mo.
...and of course too dead to start in less time.

 

[stevieb49829]

Stan, when you get convinced on a 3 wire, "conversation" me a mailing address and I'll send you a diode, and a sketch on how I wired mine. steve

 

[Jim.ME]

Stan, when you get convinced on a 3 wire, "conversation" me a mailing address and I'll send you a diode, and a sketch on how I wired mine. steve

If he goes three wire he doesn't need a diode, unless his tractor has been rewired and it was removed. His tractor was built with an indicator light for the charging system.

 

[stevieb49829]

If he goes three wire he doesn't need a diode, unless his tractor has been rewired and it was removed. His tractor was built with an indicator light for the charging system.

I kind of figured that might be the case, Jim, since it already had an alternator. Good point for him to track it all down to clean up a wiring mess if that's his situation.